The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-01-18
SANG EXPORTER,
MIR. woNa lie cnoSa orNEw YORK
Arrives In Town to Purchase Ginseng and !,
Engaged In Conversation by mn "In.
,f iteliigcneer'' Mar, ~ Points
aNg# 81 About the Trade.

Yesterday morning as m IsrSLLioEs.
GER reporter was standing at the desk in
the Mcclure office, medl.atiyely chewing &
too.h.pick and at the same time engaged
In the intellectual labor Of dociphering
the nsmea inscribed on tho register, his
eye found among those Of the very early
arrivals Of the morning. tina. OF "wong
He Chong, New York" W @,
II cay, sec here, what Is this, anyhow
One OF the boys out on q fly last nigh.?'
queried the reporter Of tho clerk as be
pointed to tho large and irregular sigma
ture. la" 81.
IS s-s.sh! there comes his jsgs now
look out or he'll hear YOU" said tho clerl
as he held up finger warringly. ant
nodded towards the entrance.
Tho reporter looked in that direction
and saw crossing the rotunda sleek
well.dreescd Chinaman. lie had the com
plexion, peculiar Dyes and other physica
distinguishing characteristics Of the Mon
goltan. His queue WAS braided tightly ant
wound closely around bis head. Hi
clothes were English. quite English, ever
to the standing collar with turnover
points and light silk scarf. The reporte
approached him and said. GOOD morn
"Go' morning." =
"Mr. Chong, believer"
"Ya, my name Chong-my card" ant
the representative Of the Flowery King
dom passed over pasteboard that gay,
the information that he was a member o
the firm OF Mel Lee Wa 4 Co, OF |!
Bowery, New York, lmporters and com
mission merchants Of all that Is Chimes,
and Japanese from, fine silks, curios
porcelains and tho like, down to teas
sweetmeats and fro crackers. AT th,
bottom OF the cord It was announced tina
the highest price would be paid for gin
seng roots. "g'
"Are you buying glnseng2"- asked tn
reporter, ~, -, $500 ~
"Ys; YOU rot some sell?
mo, I'm in the newspaper line."
| "Havoe cigar7" and he passed over
weed that had the muscle Of prize.fghte
In It's composition. snow you pu. In pla
per that Wong He Chong be come here t
bryce ginseng"
"I'll 90 you, but tell me-who do 70,
buy Sang from? How much do you buy
| Where else do you buy it and what in th,
name Of ell your gods. great aud small, /
the stuF goea for? You arc my meat, 81
to speak," 1t may be that the question
were not propounded Just the way the,
are printed, but they were 10 that genera
effect and for the next hour that Mongol
ian and reporter entertained q select az
sembly Of drummers with their animatet
conversation. t.- g
Mr.. Chong stated that he hal been /,
this country hut little over three years
that he had been we'll educated in BIZ
own. country and had thereby S'caugh
on" "vcl!y qluick" in this country; b
likes Americs, and is making money f4s
in his line. He buys Sang here iron
Horkheimsr Bros, and Iiorkheimer 1
Son. He also trayela in, and buys thu
root in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky
Tennessee, and In the mountains o
New York. In the lstter locslity he se
cures his beat roots and then in Ohio
Pennsylvania and this State in the ordel
named. AT present he is paying 81 Is te
s. Is for tho dried root, according to quail
ity and sizs. Last year he exported
about 5000 900 worth Of this arrange root
He said that somo sang was sent il X
China from Corsa and Japan but the
"Melican loot" has the highest 'csll at all
times in the Chinese markets. He scid
further that it was used by every one. rict
and poor, in the north Of China. but In the
southern part very few uss it. The repor.
ter struggled to learn just what it was uset
for but could lesra nothing outside OF the
the statement that it vss solely used fol
medicine; that it was used as sqci in all
forms, for ali aAso1 and at all timss-a re
gular cure,all. But the strange feature
about the demand faT 'sspg Is
that the larger - the y roo TIM
greater the price that can be obtainee
for it. Mr.. Chong said that there Terf
| rich msndarins who would pay as high Vi
two, three and four hundred dollafs Q
pound ios the extra large roots, but why
this was go, outside Of the superstition thai
they were bloated aristoorats who wanted
to put on style and show Of, 4r. Chang
could not or would not state. - ~ /